


Do right people with wrong timing ever get a second chance?

by marielle7595



Category: Original Work
Genre: Break Up, Depression, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Heartache, Heartbreak, Heartbreaking, Love, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight, Lust, Lust at First Sight, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Misunderstandings, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Second Chances, Unrequited Lust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:13:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27671858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marielle7595/pseuds/marielle7595
Summary: When two damaged people meet, they can either heal each other or break each other more, it depends if they are meant to be.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> How's my lovely people doing?  
> I missed you, that's why I'm back with a brand new original story. 
> 
> Is it a love story? Of course  
> Is it tragic? I don't know, little sadness never hurt nobody hahaha  
> Just kidding you guys deserve some happiness and I'm gonna make that happen. 
> 
> I hope you will enjoy the new world I made.  
> Also feel free to criticise and say what you think about .  
> It helps me grow as a writer. 
> 
> Here we go...  
> ily 
> 
> Ps: sorry for grammar mistakes and vocabulary.  
> Special dedication to LOLA.

March 2011

Days after the Tohuko devastating earthquake, the worldwide news speaks about thousands of deaths injured and missing people, the global organizations are offering help, and countries already sent financial and medical aid to Japan, people from all over the world shares their thoughts about it on Facebook, Twitter and even on the new release Instagram. 

Anime and manga fans can't skip a single second of the news, watching their dream country suffering, is a heartache itself, but what can they do to help except watching Naruto shippuden's eighth season,  
Or one piece's fish man island Arc. 

In the middle of the world 's non-stop drama, people are still living their lives, adults going to work to be able to put food on the table, university students trying not to fail any subjects, football champions league is preparing for the quarter finals same as football fans. 

And high schools seniors are preparing for their final exams. 

Graduating high school seems the hardest thing and biggest to achieve until the university pressure pops in.

In one of the ordinary high schools of the USA, where life seems peaceful more than usual, all the students gathered in the stadium stands to support their football team for the final game. 

the Brian's high school football team is doing great, one loss, nine wins and two draws this season. 

the team never was this strong before, they actually never won the cup, but Raiden Nishimura made this dream almost realistic , he joined the team in the beginning of this season after moving to the USA with his father, and everything got in the right order to the team ever since. 

A skinny tall handsome Asian , with big ambitions and skills, playing with one of the professional football clubs in the country is his main goal and biggest dream, 

His team mates call him the superstar, the coach noticed his leadership skills and rapid adaptation since day one، so he made him captain right after his first official game, looks kind of a risky decision but he believed in his dexterity and the young Japanese never disappointed him , each one in the team listens to his instructions and follows them. 

Playing with both feet right and left is Raiden's strength; never misses a goal is what makes him the center of attention of all talent seekers.  
Everyone believes that he is the next Cristiano Ronaldo. 

speed and dangerous kicks, and the ability of leading, made Raiden the player he is today. 

the final game is about to start, a talent seeker of the professional state club is taking a seat in the front to observe the Japanese very well, and if he gets lucky , he will sign a contract in weeks. 

In the locker room the young players finished getting ready, the coach is giving his usual final advice before every game :

"play clean"

The team players head to the playground, Raiden is the last one in the line, the coach walks next to him and whispers few words :  
" the talent seeker is sitting in the front, winning the cup today will make your chances bigger" he says and passes him.

Those words made the young football player more anxious.  
He keeps thinking about what happened in his country even though that his cousins and old friends live far from the incident but those who died are his people. 

Once in the playground, the teams salute the national anthem, take the team pictures, the two captains meet to exchange club flags and to choose which side of the playground, Raiden goes for obverse while the other captain chooses the back, the arbiter throws the coin in the air and let it fall in front of them, giving Raiden the right to choose. 

and right after taking the picture with the arbiters the other captain shakes the asian's hand coldly and leaves. 

Such behavior disturbs Raiden usually, he has been through a lot of racist acts, but today he must hold himself, if he wants to make it to the professional clubs his anger issues need to be controlled, he can't curse, he can't fight, and for sure can't claim the arbiters decisions. 

The Brian's high-school team reunite for a final word :  
"Why are we playing today! " Raiden asks.  
"we playing to win" his team mates in one voice.  
"why!"  
"to win" they repeat.  
"I can't hear you"  
"to win" very loud. 

Doing this before each game is like a prayer that pushes them to give their very best. 

The game starts, both teams are strong , they both possess the ball equally for fifteen minutes , until the Brian's Japanese striker receives the ball from the center middle and heads with a great speed to the goal and... He scores. 

GOAL! 

His team mates runs to hug him  
the coach smiles and claps  
the audience go crazy over it  
but it's not the case for the opponent team. 

While they celebrate, the others gather  
"I can't take it anymore, we going for plan B" the captain says.  
"are you sure?, we can win without that" the center back affirms.  
"if you are a coward, Tyler can do it" the captain angrily answers.  
But Tyler the left back also gives the scared face which makes the captain angrier.  
"what do you want me to do , to do it myself!" he furiously yells at them.  
"okay okay, I will do it, but you have to lead him to me" Tyler says.  
"easy!" the captain answers. 

They all take their spots, and right after that the arbiter whistles, the captain of the opponent team makes an intentional mistake that makes Raiden capture the ball easily,  
The striker runs for a second goal,  
Tyler left back runs to him after receiving the head sign from his captain but not to take the ball, he on purpose hits Raiden's right knee hardly...  
He falls in pain, the arbiter whistles and gives a red card immediately to Tyler who leaves the playground without regret, 

Brian's team starts a fight with the other team under the audience's booings. 

The arbiter waves to the medical team who come running to the injured player .  
He examinates the injured knee, and gives the arbiter the word to take the player out. 

The team superstar under shock insists on staying and tries to stand but the pain is stronger than he thinks. He finally gives up and allows the medical group to take him after giving the captain badge to one of his team mates. 

Out of the playground the coach whispers few words to the Boy "I'll talk to the talent seeker don't worry"  
Which calms Raiden who's struggling not to cry. 

The medical team head to the hospital in an ambulance.  
Worried Raiden asks with a shaking voice "when I'm capable of playing again?" 

But the doctor doesn't give a clear answer "let us scan the knee first". 

***

March 2011

Adeline Stewart, a sixteen year old teenager is sitting on the waiting room for more than half an hour now waiting for her turn to come, hiding her face With a black mask and glaces ashamed of being a teenager with issues in a world full of judgements.  
It's her fifth session, and she is starting to trust Dr Boyle one of the best psychologists in the city, she is even thinking about to reveal some secrets like the cuts she made in her arms every time she felt guilty about something, or the sadness that hits her randomly without an obvious reason forcing her to repeat non-stop one of the alphabet letters until she feels calmed down, or even how she wants to end her life in a painful way because she thinks she deserves pain and sadness, crying herself to sleep each night, thinking repeatedly about the times she said stupid things or made stupid mistakes. 

She is pretty convinced that the way she thinks is the normal way, and other people are like her, faking their happiness in public. 

Looking good is her daily goal, no one should notice her mesury neither feel pity for her, she prefer being hated and misunderstood by the people surrounding her and not see the compassion in their eyes, not even her own parents. 

Their divorce played a huge role in her life, and maybe the main reason for every negative thought she ever had. 

But she knows that her parents loves her no matter what. 

Adeline's turn arrives, she heads to the doctor office, knocks and gets in, the doctor smiles at her which comforts the young girl. 

Used to Dr Boyle's sessions , Adeline takes a seat in the couch in front of the psychologist chair. 

Typical questions comes first before starting the conversation that stopped the last week. 

"where do you see yourself in five years" the doctor asks. 

Adeline takes few seconds before giving her answer, she knows she can't say " in a grave" because she will be considered suicidal, and they probably will lock her in some asylum.  
So she says " in college maybe" 

"so you are thinking about having a high studies diploma, which is good" the therapist says. 

" how's your sleep lately" she adds.  
"I'm still having the same nightmares" the girl answers.  
"you at the core, the divorce day?" she questiones. 

"yes" 

"do you want them back together?" 

"no, my mom is happier this way and I'm happy for her" 

"do you hate your father for making her miserable?" 

"I used to, but not anymore" 

"what changed your mind?" 

"he is sick" 

"you feel pity for him?" 

"yes" 

"when was the last time you spoke to him?" 

"yesterday, on the phone and I'm planning to visit him today at the hospital" 

"good, do you think you are able to tell him how do you truly feel about him" 

"I don't know, it depends" 

"on what?" 

"if I'm in the mood to do it" 

"how's that?" 

"sometimes I just don't feel that I want to bring something from the past to the table" 

"what if it is the only thing that will make your nightmares disappear?" 

"I don't know maybe" 

"yes or no?" 

"yes, but what if my father will get mad about it?" 

"I want you to put yourself first in this situation" 

"I will feel guilty then for bothering him" 

"what if he won't get mad about it?" 

"there is no way for that to happen" 

"does his anger issues ever affected your decisions?" 

"most of the time" 

"are you satisfied about it?" 

"no" 

"I'll tell you this, your father may not abused you physically but emotionally he did" 

"I don't know" 

"deep down you do" 

Adeline feels her body getting warmer. 

"now let me ask you again, do you hate him and give me a direct answer?" 

Adeline thinks a little, does telling the truth will make her feel guilty... 

"yes" 

And yes she feels guilty for feeling this way, but it's stronger than her. 

Suddenly Adeline's phone rings. 

The session gets interrupted. 

"it's my mom" Adeline stares at the phone and then at the doctor waiting for an approval to take the call. 

"does she know you are here?" the doctor asks. 

"yes" the girl answers. 

Meanwhile the phone stops ringing. 

"call her back when we are done. I'm pretty sure she is calling to check on you" 

Adeline doesn't feel good about the call, her mom never interrupted their talking before. 

Knock knock. 

Dr Boyle's assistant gets in in a hurry "your mother just called, she asked you to come to the hospital where your father is" 

"why what happened?" 

"she asked you to hurry up" 

Adeline immediately stands, takes her back bag and heads to the door running. 

The doctor follows her "wait let me drive you"  
But the teenager refuses "No, it's okay I'm taking the bus" 

The doctor insists, but the girl seems convinced of her decision, she even speeds leting the doctor way behind. 

Out of the building she runs to the bus station, letting her dark thoughts dominate her mind. 

GUILTY.  
That's what she feels at the moment, she even hates herself for telling the truth to the doctor earlier. 

Few minutes of waiting and the bus arrives, she takes a seat in the back and makes no move the whole way not a single blink. 

Only one line is repeating in her head  
" he is going to die because of me" 

Thinking because she said she hates how he made her feel is the reason his health is getting worse. 

ILLOGICAL.

But not to the fragile teenager. 

***

Raiden arrives to the gouvernementale city hospital, a nurse immediately scans his injured knee, and with help of a male nurse they take the young football player to a room where he has to spend some time before the doctors make the final decision. 

Raiden notices the man sleeping in the second bed in the room, wondering what he has. 

The nurse turns the TV on before leaving, and the young player lays in bed watching the news talking the number of deaths in Japan. 

He allows himself to cry after confirming that the other patient is asleep. 

But the reason he is crying about is his football career not Japan's deaths. 

He actually wishes to be dead right now and not injured, he deep down feels he won't be able to play football anymore. 

"Why" he asks himself, and keeps crying silently, and wipes his tears immediately after feeling their warmth in his cheeks. 

Ashamed of crying, he even wants his mother so bad right now to hug him, to tell him that everything is going to be okay. 

In the past years he missed her so much, he only has pictures of her now. 

Mrs Nishimura died five years ago after suffering from a severe breast cancer, letting Raiden with his father, who moved with his son to USA in the beginning of this year after developing a good computer program. 

Mr Nishimura was always a busy man that's why Raiden grew to be his mama's boy, she even was the reason he loves football, she bought him captain Tsubasa's Manga when he was in his first year in primary school.  
And young Raiden fell in love with football ever since.

Her death was a hurtful event, it took the boy a year to accept the idea of her gone forever , but even accepting didn't make the pain go away neither the longing.

The patient in the other bed caughs.  
Raiden immediately stops crying, cleans his face with a paper tissue from the night desk and pretends to be watching the news.

"You were not here earlier" the man says.

"I arrived while you were sleeping" the boy answers.

" I hope it's not that dangerous what you have"

"me too"

"I'm probably going to die in the next days" 

Raiden looks at him with empathy "is it that serious your disease?" 

"my heart got weaker and they didn't find a donner, I wish I could have more time to spend it with my daughter" 

Those words reminded Raiden of his mother. 

"why isn't she here now?" 

"she will be here later I hope" 

"I'm Jonathan Stewart" 

"Raiden Nishimura" 

"I'm sorry for what happened to your country"  
"me too" 

The sick man stares at the boy for a while, he observes the sadness in his face. 

"are you a football player?" 

"yes" 

"I used to be one too, when I was your age" 

"you got injured during the game" 

"I got hit by an other player, who's probably laughing now" 

"it's okay son, no matter what happens today, it's part of a bigger plan" 

"what if I can't play anymore" 

"it means that the big guy wants you to do something else with your life" rising his index. 

"I'm not that religious" 

"neither do I" the man says then adds " Instead of resisting to changes, surrender. Let life be with you, not against you. If you think ‘My life will be upside down’ don’t worry. How do you know down is not better than upside?" 

"what's that? From the Bible?" the Boy wondering. 

"that's what a very wise man once said" 

Raiden remains silent. 

the man keeps talking to him like a father.  
"I see that you love football, let's say you won't be able to play again, this doesn't mean you can't walk or run or even kick a ball, instead of giving up completely change your goal a little" 

"I don't get it" 

"instead of playing, what about coaching" 

Raiden weirdly thinks that the man got some point, he knows he has a great leading skills and even replaced his coach many times with his team. 

"I don't know" he says.  
"you can't tell if you don't give it a try" the old patient tells him and adds

"you are still young, you will heal, you'll get more options in life, you will also take some wrong turns but it's okay, mistakes will help you grow stronger and wiser" 

Raiden about to cry "thank you" he tells the man with eyes full of tears. 

"you're welcome son" he smiles at him. 

"you know what I want to do before I leave this life, I want to have an honest conversation with my daughter, to apologize for the hard time she has been through because of me" 

"why don't you do it?" 

"I'm planning to do it today when she comes, I really hope she listens" the man says and sighs. 

"I wish my father would talk to me like you are doing" the boy says and also sighs. 

"I wish I have more time to live" 

SILENCE. 

"stay strong Mr Stewart" the Boy says. 

The man smiles at the boy " you too son", then he starts caughing severely non-stop. 

The boy panics and pushes the emergency button. 

In less than ten seconds a nurse arrives, she walks in and out and then comes back with a doctor. 

Raiden observes them helping the man taking his breath back, but they couldn't make it without a respirator. 

The man's breathing is stable for the moment but not for so long. 

The hospital called his family to come see him in case his heart gets weaker than now. 

***

Raiden feeling sorry for the man in the second bed, he even can't take his eyes off of him. 

Knock knock. 

A doctor gets in with two male nurses"hello Raiden, I'm doctor Brad"he intrudces himself and keeps talking "we tried to reach your father but he didn't respond, and we can't wait more to do the surgery" 

Raiden not surprised of his father who always puts his work first asks " is it that bad" 

"to be honest your chances to play after the surgery are low, but miracles happen you know"  
This answer hits Raiden in the heart immediately. 

He holds himself not to cry in front of them but he is already crying in the inside, he turns to look at Mr Stewart in the other bed who's inconcious, seeing him between life and death makes his suffering less painful.  
So he accepts to do the surgery, hoping to come back and see the man who treated him like a son alive. 

***

A two hour surgery on the injured knee, to fix a repture in the interior cruciate ligament, that will take him more than nine months to heal.

The nurses take the young football player who's inconcious, back to his room where he left the old man suffering from a weak heart.

Mr Stewart's sisters are waiting by the door, they back off to let the medical team and the inconcious boy pass.

Once in the room the nurses fix the bed for Raiden and leave him inconcious.

Mr Stewart notices him and feels relieved that his surgery succeeded, but a teenager interrupts the silence in the room, she gets in a hurry with tears falling down her cheeks.

She throws herself in the old man's arms and huggs him tightly, the daughter he was waiting for the whole day finally came and now he can leave this world in piece.

***

At the hospital Adeline passes by the reception without asking, directly to her father's room, where she finds her aunties waiting in tears. 

"don't tell me" she asks in tears. 

"his heart got weaker, If they don't find a donner until tonight, they can't save him" her older aunt says and takes her in her arms. 

The doctor opens the door and comes out of the room, the face he is giving says it all. 

" we did our best, the rest is up to GOD" and leaves letting the three women crying. 

Adeline gets into the room to see her father. 

Mr Stewart under respirator, smiles when he sees her, tries to move his hand but she hurries to him, not letting him do any effort. 

She notices that there is an other patient in the room, but she concentrates on her father. 

Her tears fall on her cheeks " they are going to find a heart dad" she says. 

Mr Stewart lets his tears fall too, having enough of playing the hard man, he wipes his daughter's tears and takes her in his arms knowing that this is their last hug. 

He regrets so many things in his life, but being a toxic parent is his main regret. 

***

01:00 AM  
At the Hospital. 

Adeline wakes up forgetting she slept in this position, on her knees but her upper body in her dad's arms. 

The voice that the respirator is making woke her up from a good dream, she saw her dead grandmother hugging her father telling her not to worry she will take care of him from now on. 

But why the respirator sound is not cutting like it should. 

She stands to see a straight red line in the machine. 

"Dad!" she tries to wake him up.  
"dad..... dad" in tears  
"please wake up" 

The doctor penetrates the room with a nurse who takes Adeline out to join her aunties and her mother who's sitting silently. 

The doctor tries to revive the father's heart with DC shocks 

Once  
Twice  
Three times 

But the heart doesn't respond. 

So he signs the time of death. 

Monday 15th March 2011, at 01:09 Am Jonathan Stewart aged 53 years old dies in the gouvernementale hospital room 120.  
Cause of death : cardiac arrest after suffering from weak heart muscles. 

And heads to the door to announce the bad news to his family. 

As a doctor his biggest struggle is the moment he loses a patient, and announcing the bad news to their loved ones always breaks his heart.  
He even thought about quitting. 

He opens the door to see a family already wailing, he gives the death statement to one of the aunties after signing it and leaves.


	2. Glassy hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, lovely people 
> 
> How you doing? 
> 
> I know I took so long to update but the chapter is worth the wait.
> 
> It's a long chapter, full of events, you gonna meet new people, gonna know more details. 
> 
> I hope you will enjoy it guys. 
> 
> don't forget to leave kudos, comments and share it with your friends. 
> 
> Stay safe ily all.
> 
> Ps: sorry for vocabulary mistakes.

March 2020  
It's been three months exactly since the first Corona case appeared in china, a new dangerous virus goes by the name of Covid_19 is making the world more anxious than the world War three that almost started between Iran and USA in the past January, or even the Australia fires.  
The year 2020 looks like a cursed year, kobe Bryant died after a crash helicopter accident with his daughter, leaving millions of fans crying.  
And when people thought that the year can't get worse, covid_19 arrived to Europe.  
It affected everyone, symptoms that looks like the flu but it's more dangerous, starts with tiredness and fever and dry coughing, and develops to aches and pain and ends up with chest pain and difficulty breathing.  
Worldwide news only speaks about the amount of deaths that Corona is causing, old people are the most damaged slice of society.  
Hospitals turned to cemeteries, cities to ghost towns and hotels to hospitals.  
A global lockdown appears in the horizon as the only solution to hide gouvernements catastrophic failure.  
Italy and Spain preside the most damaged countries, then comes France and UK.  
in USA people are still believing that corona is nothing but a big lie.  
Even though that the first case was reported in January, people are not following the prevention process.  
Few people wear masks and wash their hands regularly, and most of people still go clubbing.  
And while companies all over the world have started working from home.  
American associations are still having a normal daily work routine.  
Meetings, collective lunch breaks, and professional trainings.  
NSH ELECTRONICS, a two years old company with great success and reputation is living its golden age, specialized in computer parts, all the electronic stores in the United States sell their products.  
Belongs to NSH mother company that was created in 2012, by Mr Haruto Nishimura who headed the news headlines that year.  
from a simple computer program developer to a an electronic brand creater, gaining millions of dollars encouraged him to make his work grow bigger.  
And with the help of his only son Raiden Nishimura, Mr Nishimura became the chairman of NSH group including the mother company, NSH ELECTRONICS, and NSH factories.  
graduated from science and technology university, Raiden started as an engineer in his father's organization before building his Subsidiary company, with a great engineering and marketing team the brand NSH occupied the electronic market within two years.  
his short football career that ended tragically pushed him to focus on his studies, and with little ambition the young Japanese made it to electronic faculty his second passion after football.  
A very good communicator, honest and integrated, creative and innovate, and especially confident makes Raiden a very good leader.  
His employees were carefully chosen, he assisted a lot of job interviews to pick his team workers.  
He focused on the first impression they give him, he somehow can figure out the good ones, those who will completely be committed by just following his instinct.

***

March 2020  
It's been nine years since her father passed away.  
Adeline who's 25 years old, has freshly graduated from marketing national school.  
occupied different positions in many companies since she was 19.  
She is searching for a new job to unleash her marketing career, in the same time she helps her mother with the bakery business.  
Adeline replaces the cashier sometimes, helps the delivery workers too, she even cleans at night when they close.  
Being the owner doesn't stop her from doing all the work.  
Her mom always wanted to start her own business, but her ex husband was a little abusive and possessif to let her do anything.  
After the divorce she focused on raising Adeline, her only child.  
But since Adeline became an adult, the single m om had no excuse not to follow her humble dream.  
She quit the job she occupied for years after saving a little money, and opened her first bakery.  
the store was small but decorated with love and passion, filled with all the delicious desserts and bakery that the mom and the chef assistant make.  
The business grow bigger rapidly, which obliged Adeline's mother to buy a new place.  
With the money she earned and her daughter's help who was working in different places as a hostess and product representative.  
The two ladies opened K&A bakery, taking the first letters of their names Karmin and Adeline.  
Karmin decorated the place herself, the business grow bigger than their expectations, especially with Adeline managing the social media accounts, people from all over the country come to taste what they see on Instagram.  
But the daughter has different ambitions.  
She wants to manage a whole marketing team.  
to work in one of the biggest companies in the country.  
or at least in one of the start up companies like the NSH ELECTRONICS. 

Who will see Adeline now will never believe that this girl was a depressed teenager who secretly wanted to suicide.  
she is different now, full of life.  
she can't stop herself from getting breakdowns.  
But at least she is convinced that the life is worth to live.  
no one can take her smile away not even the trash men she was dating from time to time.  
suffering from sever daddy issues the girl got mistreated a lot in the name of love.  
And she somehow accepted it.  
It was her guilty pleasure she never spoke about.  
That kind of love reminded her of her father.

***  
5th March 2020  
06:00  
Raiden Nishimura 's house  
Raiden set the alarm at six in the morning, but he woke up an hour ago, he finds it hard to stay asleep lately, his first thought when he opened his eyes was Keira, his ex girlfriend who's getting ready to marry someone else.  
He may not admit it, but he truly loved her, the couple spent four years together, they first met in university, and they started dating immediately, their relationship was more about sex than feelings, but Raiden saw her differently, he even wanted her to be part of his NHS project, but the brunette had other plans to do, she broke up with him right after graduation saying that she wanted to be free.  
And the young man who's full of ego let her go easily.  
The days after the break up were difficult, he cried, he got waisted, and had sex with some random girls on tinder trying to forget Keira who announced her engagement in the next days.  
A knife straight to the back.  
She wanted to be free why is she somebody else's fiance then?  
Raiden asking himself a question he already knows the answer.  
The girl never loved him, she actually never remembered his birthday during four years, they actually never had a deep conversation about something else but sexual desires,  
he wanted to tell her about his fears, football career, his life in Japan, his dead mother but she never listened and also never cared, obsessed with social media a girl from a wealthy family like her won't bother herself by listening to anyone's life story.  
Raiden knew she ain't the one but the sexual tension was stronger plus he got used to her smell, breath and body shape.  
He actually cut her twice cheating and when he finally swore he was done with her, she used every men's weakness "good sex".  
But good sex never replaces love.  
Raiden wanted her to call him asking for an advice, but all he got was booty calls.  
And at the end she left like they never happened.  
His self esteem went to the bottom, and he decided not to let any other girl get into his life again.  
Traumatized.  
That's what you get when you don't choose wisely, a life lesson.

***  
5th march 06:00  
Adeline's house.  
the girl is sleeping deeply when her phone rings,  
Once  
Twice  
...  
She hesitates but then answers.  
"Hello" she says with a raspy voice.  
"Adeline, please replace me for an hour I have an emergency" the girl in the other side.  
"are you for real" Adeline claims.  
"yes please Adeline, it won't happen again" the girl says.  
"what kind of emergency you have" Adeline asks.  
"my boyfriend is stuck in the police station, he just called me" the girl says.  
"and what has this to do with you?"  
"I'll pay the custody"  
"are you for real!"  
"yes Adeline, I have to do it"  
"no you don't"  
"I love him"  
"he keeps getting into trouble"  
"that's the last time, he promised"  
"okay fine, I'll take your place and won't tell mom a thing but this is your last time"  
"thank you so much Ade you're the best"  
" yeah, yeah"  
And she hangs up immediately.  
Adeline feels pity but not for the girl who works at their store, she feels pity for herself.  
She did the same for the type of men she frequented.  
And seeing someone doing it makes her see how pathetic she was.  
Or that's what she thinks for the moment.  
Adeline jumps out of bed, takes a quick shower wears cosy clothes fixes her hair and gets out in a rush.  
The bakery is located underneath the house.  
She wears the black uniform and stands in the cashier spot.  
The bakery always opens at 06:00, her mom and Brad the chef helper start working way before the opening .  
the cashier usually starts at 6 too but today is an exception.  
Adeline waits half asleep half awake for any customers.  
Nervous about the job interview she will have later today.  
She prepared everything yesterday.  
Her clothes, shoes, accessories, bag, and even some answers for some typical job interview questions.  
She needs this job so bad.

****

Just finished doing push ups, Raiden heads to the bathroom, he takes a quick shower, and then heads to his room, he chooses a black suit with blue shirt and tie he bought in Italy past January.  
Dresses rapidly puts a Jaeger-LeCoultre navy blue watch he bought in Switzerland last summer.  
A pair of black Oxford shoes, he fixes his hair, puts some blue de Chanel perfume he ordered from France.  
Raiden who never cared about the look grow to be a stylish gentleman.  
At 28 years old, the ex football player became his father's company manager, and the only heir.  
He got close to his old man, during the past years, realizing that his father loves him his way.  
Raiden gets into his grey marcedes E 350, makes a quick call with his secretary about morning meetings, turns the radio on, local news speaking about Corona, so he puts some music instead.  
The weekend blinding lights.  
He loves the weekend's music, he actually listened to call out my name litreraly nonstop when that song was released.

***

07:30  
K&A bakery.  
"Ade where is Sam?" Adeline's mother asks.  
"I asked her to do something for me mom, she will be a little late" Adeline answers her mom who's preparing herself to go out, "where are you going?" she asks.  
"I have some banking things to do" the mother answers.  
"don't you think it's a little early"  
"I'll drive slow"  
"are you sure you are going to the bank mom?"  
"yes" the mom immediately answers.  
"okay"  
Karmin leaves the bakery and takes the car which was parked outside.  
Then finally a customer gets in.

****

He starts the car and drives to the company.  
Passing by a bakery he never saw before, he parks and gets in to buy whatever catches his eyes first.  
a beautiful young lady smiles at him when he gets in.  
And that's the first thing that catches his eyes.  
He even stops for a while observing her face's details, smile, pretty honey eyes, messy but beautiful bun, lovely black uniform that makes her body look like a magazine model.  
"good morning sir, can I help you?" the young lady asks with a big smile.  
Raiden smiles back at her and answers with a raspy voice " yes, can I have a croissant" pronouncing the French word in French makes him and the girl laugh.  
"yes of course, can I suggest something for you" she asks.  
he takes a look on her name tag then says" of course Adeline "  
The girl blushes hearing a very handsome classy stranger pronouncing it.  
Already wearing gloves she takes a muffin with a metal tongs and mini chocolate bread and croissant and puts them in a paper bag" I hope you will like them " she says with a grin.  
The classy man lands his credit card" I'm pretty sure I will " he says and smiles back.  
They both exchanges looks observing each other's faces, then they both blush and take their eyes out.  
" I like the design " Raiden says.  
" thank you, my mother did it herself " Adeline answers.  
" impressing " he looks all around the bakery.  
" thanks" she finishes the payment and gives him his credit card back.  
"i'd like to meet such a great designer"  
"she'll be here in the evenings"  
"so you work the mornings" he allows himself to ask.  
"I'm actually here when the cashier is absent" she answers and giggles.  
"I hope the cashier gets absent a lot"he smiles then realizes he is flirting.  
So he stops himself before getting so far.

***  
The man leaves.  
Adeline finally breaths,  
The man's charm made her so uncomfortable, and she can't even tell why.  
She met a lot of handsome attractive men before.  
But this one made her feel everything at once.  
An electric shock, that's the word that describes the feeling she felt.  
She deep down hopes to see him again "maybe he'll get back to meet my mom the evening" she tells herself.  
Then shakes the idea immediately from her head.  
A girl gets in a hurry to the bakery "I'm so sorry Adeline" she says.  
"it's okay Sam" Adeline gently answers.  
"you're not mad at me or something"  
"no, why would I?"  
" are you sure?"  
"yes"  
"Thank god"  
Adeline removes the black uniform she was wearing and leaves the bakery.

***

Raiden leaves the bakery and once in the car he opens the paper bag and takes a bite from the muffin Adeline suggested,  
He actually finds it super delicious that he drools.  
And while chewing he takes a look on the bill and figures out that the girl only made the payment for the croissant and the rest are mentioned as gifts.  
this gesture made his day.  
***

08:10  
NSH ELECTRONICS company.  
Raiden penetrates the company after parking at the entrance and letting the doorman take the car to the company parking lot.  
Walks with confidence, greeting his employees one by one.  
He may have changed his dressing style, his career, but his heart is the same.  
And one of his strengths as a leader is being kind to his employees, which makes them listen to him willingly.  
Once in his office, he checks today's time table, that the secretary already prepared.  
The administrative board meeting in fifteen minutes, then he has some job interviews to take, after that he will meet his dad in the afternoon to discuss the crisis procedures.  
But before heading to the meeting room, he finishes eating what he bought this morning, amazed by the taste, and also can't take the image of the honey eyed girl from his head.  
He promised himself not to fall in love again.  
He can't take the pain this time.  
drinking to forget about someone who doesn't give a shit about him made Raiden hate himself.  
So he is convinced that he is not allowed to even like an other girl ever.  
And since he is not going back to that bakery, he won't see her again.  
"delicious" he whispers to himself after taking the last croissant bite.  
"Mr Nishimura they're waiting for you in the meeting room" his secretary says.  
Raiden holds his laptop and heads to the meeting.  
The administrative board discusses the rise of the shares in the stock market, the company's sales didn't get affected at all by the Corona pandemic.

****  
At the house, she prepares herself for the job interview, she dresses up, fixes her hair, and puts some soft make up, sprays the perfume, and puts her shoes on.  
Before getting out she takes a final look on herself.  
She feels pretty and confident.  
but deep down her confidence can easily be shaken.  
And she knows that.  
She stops a taxi cab out of the house and heads to the company.  
Thinks all the way about a bright future she always dreamed of.  
Wishes to have her dad by her side right now.  
But he is long gone.  
Once at the company entrance, she observes the details in the logo decoration.  
"NSH ELECTRONICS"  
She goes straight to the reception, introduces herself and gives the hostess her ID. And takes a seat at the waiting room.  
Adeline grabs a magazine that she found on the table and starts turning its pages.  
Then stops at one.  
Something catches her eyes.  
A charming young man who goes by the name of Raiden Nishimura.  
A long article about his leading skills and success.  
She knows the man.  
Her heart beats faster.  
She actually met him this morning.  
Why she never Googled the owner of the company before .  
"this can't be a coincidence!" she speaks to herself.  
She thinks twice about running away.  
But why!.  
" if he ever sees me here, he'll recognize me"  
"I hope he won't"  
"I hope he'll forget that I was the cashier"  
" or maybe he'll think that I offered him the muffin and the chocolate bread as a bribe to get accepted in this job"  
She keeps overthinking  
"I should go"  
"I'll tell them something urgent came up"  
"but why would I do such a thing"  
"he probably won't remember me"  
"I hope he won't"  
"why do I care this much"  
"I hope he's not the one interviewing me"  
her secret discussion gets interrupted by a woman.  
"miss Stewart, good morning I'm Hailey, the director's secretary"  
Adeline stands from her chair "good morning"  
"follow me to his office, he'll receive you in few minutes" the secretary says.  
"the director will interview me?" Adeline asks.  
"yes!" the secretary answers confusedly.  
"damn it" Adeline tells herself but plays it cool.  
She follows her to a long quiet hallway, she gets in with her to a small office.  
the woman asks her to wait and leaves.  
Adeline's over thinking starts again but she resists it by admiring the office's modern design.  
A young man gets in with the secretary who turns to be an other condidate, he takes a seat next to Adeline, and they got left alone again.  
The girl gets more anxious, she hates competing over anything, especially job opportunities.

****  
Raiden leaves the meeting satisfied of the process his company is making so far.  
He checks his time table again and goes to his office followed by his secretary.  
"the two condidates are waiting for the interview" she says.  
" give me two minutes to check their resume then send them one by one to the interview" Raiden says and gets into the office.  
He takes a seat, opens the file and checks the first condidate, a young man with master degree in marketing with a one year experience in a competitive company.  
he takes time observing his resume's details until he heard knocks on the door.  
He knows how strict his secretary is, when he tells her two minutes she won't add a single second.

****

Le blue de Chanel didn't leave Adeline’s nostrils since the morning and she is smelling it again.  
a wave of different emotions hits her, but she holds herself.  
She has to stay calm and confident.  
The secretary calls her name, and Adeline stands and follows her,  
"good luck" she tells her and leaves her standing against a big door.  
The young girl knocks.  
a voice tells her to get in.

****

Raiden gives the right to enter saying "get in"  
The door opens and a pretty female gets in instead.  
Wearing a classy black dress and heals, curly brown hair, smooth make up, that shows her honey eyes.

Tiny gold accessories and skin color nail polish.  
He knows this face, he met this body before, those eyes were the prettiest thing he saw this morning and that hair also.  
A wave of a Zara vanilla perfume hits Raiden's nose.  
His jaw dropped and hers too.  
"Adeline!" he prononces her name.  
The girl smiles.

****  
Adeline's heart bursts down.  
"he remembered my name"  
"Or he just read it from the resume " she speaks to herself.  
she smiles, asks for permission to sit,  
and the young asian approves.

****  
Raiden feels the warmth going from his body up to his face.  
The girl takes a seat face to him.  
Raiden still not believing that the girl of the bakery this morning is sitting in his office for a job interview.  
He was pretty sure that he won't see her again.  
He didn't want to see her again.  
He deep down feels that he is going to end up liking her.  
But now she is here.  
He quickly sneaks a peak on her resume, memorizing her name Adeline Stewart.  
Two professional experiences.  
and high studies diploma in marketing.  
"alright Adeline you have five minutes to introduce yourself, your past roles, and your future goals, and what you going to bring to our company"  
The girl gently smiles before answering all the questions successfully.  
Raiden who's trying to focus on what she is saying, he can't stop himself from liking her freckles, plump lips, small ears, skinny neck and the way everything is combined in one perfect human body.  
But the girl is more than that, she is an expert in marketing that the company certainly needs, the way she talks shows how confident she is, and her past experiences are something memorable.  
At the end of the interview, Raiden stands so does the girl.  
"thank you for your precious time" he says.  
"thank you for the chance" she answers.  
"we'll call your for a second interview" he tells her with a smile.

The girl leaves and Raiden feels the release.  
He wasn't uncomfortable, but he was stressed.  
It's been a while since he found any girl pretty.

****

Raiden receives the second condidate, who's very good at marketing but not as good as Adeline,  
he doesn't have enough experience to take a marketing manager position.  
The secretary penetrates his office after that the interviews were done.  
"call her in two days, my father would like to interview her " Raiden says and lands Adeline's resume to the secretary.  
"okay, dont forget you're meeting the chairman after lunch break" she says and leaves.  
The classy Japanese stays with his thoughts.  
"What is it with this girl, why am I nervous" he asks himself.  
He hates feeling weak like now.  
having a bad experience with love will cause a longtime trauma, if not healed a life time trauma.  
His ex ruined him inside, caused him pain, and now a small attraction to some random girl made his body in a defense position.  
He knows he is suffering from PTSD, he googled the symptoms hundreds of times, done the test thousands of times too, but he is too lazy to see a counselor, and too ashamed to admit that he needs a psychological help.  
****

On her way home, Adeline who took an Uber driver is feeling happy.  
Happy that she didn't run away when she felt she had too.  
Happy she saw the random man from the bakery again who turned to be the boss of NSH ELECTRONICS.  
And happy that she did well in the interview.  
wondering if they are going to call her like they said.  
She always doubted what interviewers say at job interviews, she knows they promise to call then they send a negative response through email.  
She've been disappointed before but this time she feels different.

****

Once at home the classy girl changes her clothes and puts some comfortable ones , sits in the living room couch, and takes her laptop on her lap.  
She browses LinkedIn for few seconds like she always do.  
Then an idea pops in her mind, Adeline presses on the searching button and writes  
"Raiden Nishimura"  
The girl swallows her saliva before seeing the results.  
His account shows on screen, she hesitates but then clicks on his profile.  
a classy picture with a classy career.  
The man only mentioned his university and jobs he occupied in NHS companies.  
Not finding all the informations she wanted to know about him makes him look mysterious and more attractive.  
a combination of two different feelings hit her at once.  
excitement and fear.  
She is excited to know more about this Raiden .  
But fears the fact that she is going to get attached to him.  
Since her father's death the girl started getting attached to every man she meets easily.  
And since she was aware of her weakness, running seemed the easiest thing to do for Adeline back in the days.  
Instead of facing her fears, she turned her phone off for days and deactivated her social media accounts.  
But this time, she must hold herself.  
she must get the job, she must look confident like she did this morning and for sure no one should know about how unsteady she is when it comes to men.  
She closes the laptop and decides to take a nap since she woke up early today.

****

Raiden heads to meet his father right after taking lunch, the father and the son meet in the chairman's office.  
they discuss some regular things about the company and about the mesures they have to take with the Corona crisis.  
Raiden's phone vibrates in his pocket, he takes it out, to see a linkedin notification.  
LINKEDIN MEMBERS VIEWED YOUR PROFILE.  
he never cared about those who visit his linkiedin profile before, but while his father takes a sip of his tea, the young man clicks on the notification.  
A lot of names shown on the screen but the one that catches his sight is :  
ADELINE STEWART viewd your profile.  
Raiden smiles and clicks on her name immediately.  
Her profile appears on the screen.  
Raiden clicks on the picture directly.  
And stares at it for seconds before remembering that his father is still there.  
So He locks the phone on her photo.

****

Adeline who's about to fall asleep receives a notification on her phone.  
She decides to see what is it about before sleeping.  
RAIDEN NISHIMURA viewed your profile.  
Her jaw dropped.  
She jumps from bed and hurries to the living room where she left the laptop.  
The girl wants to make sure that she is not dreaming.  
The notification is also showing on her laptop screen.  
She stares at it with a big smile on her face, not even blinking for a minute before getting interrupted by the door bell.


	3. What is love ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone,  
> It's been a little while. 
> 
> I've been so caught up in other things, that it took me a long time to prepare this chapter. 
> 
> But today is valentine's day and everyone deserves some love. 
> 
> I hope you will enjoy the third chapter.  
> 
> 
> Happy valentine's day.

Adeline jumps from the couch and goes to open the door, her mom enters and takes off her shoes without saying a word.  
The girl notices a sad look on her mom's face "are you okay mom" she asks.  
"yes" her mom briefly answers.  
"did something happen?" the girl insists.  
"no" her mom answers.  
"are you sure?"  
"yes"  
Adeline follows her mom to her room...  
"You don't look fine mom"  
"I said I'm fine" she yells at her daughter.

An awkward Silence takes place in the room.  
Adeline leaves.  
Her mom immediately feels the guilt for yelling at her.  
So she goes after her, and hugs her from the back.  
"I'm sorry" the mom says.  
"aren't you going to tell me what happened"  
"I have some problems with the bank"  
"what kind of problems?"  
"they want me to return the debt I took last year all at once"  
"what do you mean?"  
"the money we bought the place we work in with"  
"they want it back"  
"didn't you sign a contract or something that you can pay it in installments"  
"yes"  
"so you have nothing to worry about"  
"they can end the contract if they want"  
"that's illegal "  
"They just did Adeline and now I have to pay them back or else I'll lose the bakery" the mom says with tears in her eyes.  
"we'll figure it out mom, I promise"

****  
6PM  
Raiden 's house

The young Asian gets into his house, removes his jacket and shoes, walks through a long hallway to the living room.  
He turns the TV on, and lays on the couch.  
The news speaks about the global lockdown that hasn't started in the US yet.  
he stares at the TV without blinking an eye, thinking about a lot of things.  
his ex-girlfriend's wedding is approaching and while he's afraid of even starting a conversation with a girl his ex is getting married.

his phone rings!

He answers

"hello"  
"what's up dude?"  
"nothing much, how are you?"  
"I'm good, we're meeting at the gym this evening right?"  
"are they still open with this Corona thing?"  
"Raiden it's my gym, I open it whenever I want"  
"haha okay meet you at 8 then"  
And he hung up.

if there's something he is thankful to have, is Mike Teller his college friend.  
a guy from a wealthy family, his father owns a bank, a gym and series of boat stores.  
And he is the only heir of that fortune, no brothers no sisters.

The two boys met at the university, they hated each other at first but they turned to be good friends at the end of the first year.  
Mike was the only person who helped Raiden through his breakup, and the Asian is both thankful and grateful for that help.  
The asian heads to his room, grabs his backpack, puts a towel, clean clothes and underwear.

Then puts his gymsuit on his bed.

goes back to the living because it's still early to go out now and Mike's gym is only thirty minutes away.  
He scrolls Instagram for a second then a crazy idea pops in his head.  
He presses the searching button and writes K&A bakery.  
Presses on the first result.  
A beautiful account full of colors shows up.  
a short bio with the address and professional phone number.  
He scrolls through the posts, then stops at one picture where Adeline was wearing the uniform hugging an older woman who looks a lot like her.

"that's definitely her mom" he speaks to himself and likes the picture unconsciously.  
He keeps scrolling on the old pictures until his phone rings again.

He answers after seeing the name appearing.  
"yes bro"  
"I'm at the gym, where are you at?"  
"You're kidding right, you said at 8!"  
"no, you said that, I just approved"  
"well I'm not coming until it's 8"  
"come on man"  
"no"  
"7"  
"8"  
6:30  
It's already 6:30  
Then 7  
Raiden breaths then says "fine I'll make it by 7:30"  
And hangs on his friend.  
God knows how many times Mike did this to Raiden.  
It was actually the only reason for their fights.  
But they make up quickly every time.  
They somehow both know they can't live without each other.

***

The handsome Asian starts the car after putting his gym bag in the back seat and drives to Mike's gym.  
Parks at the parking lot near his friend's white BMW x7, and takes the elevator to the first floor where Mike is waiting on him in the changing room.  
The two friends hug each other like nothing happened and they start chatting

"dude the virus thing is getting serious"

"of course it is, we received new work instructions from the ministry and the mask became an obligation for my employees"

"you're lucky it's just masks they obliged you to, they asked us to close the gym!"

"you serious!"

"yes my father called me after calling you earlier, and he told me the news"

"so today is our last day using your gym"

"yeah I guess"

Raiden feels sorry for his friend and a little guilty not coming early when he asked him to.  
"then let's make it a great final work out"  
Mike stands and hits his friend's shoulder "I'll kill you on the pec deck Nishimura"

"in your dreams Teller"  
The two young men start their training next to each other and chatt meanwhile about everything.

"How's Mady doing?"  
"she is fine, I guess her flight to Paris got canceled yesterday"  
"let's go out together some time like we used to do back in college"  
"you need to find a girlfriend then"

Raiden stares at his friend.

"what ! , you're not going to spend all your life alone because of that ungrateful whore!"  
"don't call her like that"  
"I'm sorry to tell you this but she is"  
Raiden stops his work out, and gives an angry look to his friend.  
Mike immediately realizes that he just crossed a red line.  
"let me set you up with Mady's little sister"

"to what! Babysitting, no thanks"

"she's 23 yo"

"not my type"

"what's your type then?"

"why do you care that much?"

"I'm your friend, I want to see you happy"

"I'm happy plus..." Raiden says and stops before saying what's crossing his mind...

he can't believe he is thinking about Adeline right now..  
"plus what..." Mike asks.

"nothing" Raiden answers.

"hold on, you are seeing someone?" his friend asks, insisting.

"no"

"I'll kill you if you are.. and didn't tell me"

"I said I'm not, it's just..." he hesitates.

"what?!" the one with no patience asks.

"I keep on meeting some random girl in unexpected places"

"how is she"

" beautiful"

"did you guys talk"

"yes we did"

"is she interested in you?"

"I don't know, I only met her today twice and..."

"and what..!"

"I met her in the morning at her mother's bakery, then she came for a job interview in the company, and she even visited my linkedin profile the after noon"

"so she is going to work for you"

"yeah I guess"

"and you find her beautiful"

"yes"

"then make the first step"

"she is going to work in the company, and I don't know if she is single"

"you will know when she starts working"

"I feel like a teenager right now"

"yes bro you are"

"that's nice thank you"

Mike laughs then says " you have nothing to lose go for it"

"I do have my peace and I don't want it shook"

"if having trouble sleeping because of nightmares about your ex is peace for you, dude you need a therapist"

Raiden stays silent.

"dude I know you've been hurt for so long, and I know that the pain is stronger than it looks to me, but at least fight back, do something, you are good looking and rich, there is a  
lot of girls out there desiring you and you know it "

"I want something real"

"you can't find it if you don't look for it "

Those last words hit Raiden straight to the brain, he even wonders why is he that terrified.

He deep down believes that love doesn't hurt but loving the wrong ones does.

And instead of waiting for someone to enter his life and fix it, he will do it himself.

Because now he is convinced that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.

***

The two friends leave the gym, each one in his car.  
Mike insisted on Raiden to keep him in touch and the Asian accepted.  
like he can refuse.

***

Two days passes.  
The world is getting crazier, Corona is taking thousands of lives daily, the stock market is collapsing and a global economic crisis is looming in the horizon.  
Supermarkets got invaded by customers who bought everything to stock it home in case of an apocalypse.  
And in the middle of chaos people lose their minds.  
many fights were reported because of toilet paper, flour or semolina.  
In Spain and Italy where the lockdown is so strict, people amuse each other by singing in the balconies or by applauding to the ambulance cars who are doing their jobs.  
concerts are getting canceled, events and all of sports games too.  
millions end up jobless and depression percentage increases like crazy.

*****

2 pm  
Adeline's house.

Since she saw her mother upset about the bank, Adeline called many lawyers to ask about clues to cancel the contract, all the answers unfortunately were negative.  
And now she must pay the bank a fortune to keep the bakery.  
stressed like never before the girl tries to relax by turning the music on her phone.  
She puts green day boulevard of broken dreams.  
God knows how much she listened to that song when she was a teenager.  
When she was a broken girl with big dreams.  
When she felt everything but peace.  
her phone rings interrupting her nostalgia.

She immediately answers.

"Miss Adeline Stewart?"  
" yes"  
"this is Linda Brown from the human resources of NSH ELECTRONICS"  
"oh, hello"  
"How have you been doing, Miss Stewart?"  
"good, thank you"  
"are you free tomorrow in the afternoon for a second interview with the chairman"  
"yes of course"  
"then tomorrow at 2, the chairman will see you"  
"great I'll be on time"  
" when you pass by the reception ask for me, I'll come receive you"  
"Linda brown"  
"that's right"  
"tomorrow then"  
the girl hangs up .

The first thing she thinks about after hanging is the handsome Asian.

"I'm going to see him again," she whispers to herself.

Her heart skipped a beat.

happy and anxious like always she hurries to her closet to find anything classy to wear tomorrow.

"not a dress" she pushed all her dresses away.

The girl spends the whole afternoon trying on clothes.  
At the end she picks a black suit she only wears once and puts it on the side of the bed.  
Determined to get the job no matter what, Adeline prepares her second interview outfit by adding a white blouse to the black suit and a mini heels shoes.  
She takes her towel and heads to the bathroom where she takes a quick bath.  
Right after that she brushes her hair and lays in the living room couch overthinking.  
The thing she does the best.

"how I'm going to solve the bank problem"

" what if I won't be able to pay them back"

"what if the chairman's company won't like me tomorrow and the only way out of this situation will get closed"

"I don't want to see mom unhappy"

"she doesn't deserve that"  
and she keeps overthinking until she falls asleep in an uncomfortable position.  
A decision she will regret probably when she wakes up tomorrow with a neck pain.

***

Next morning  
7 a.m.  
Raiden’s house

Raiden Takes a sip from his juice , then heads to the hallway where He stands facing the mirror to fix his tie. Excited about today the young Asian knows that Adeline will have a second interview with his father In the afternoon .

She is already accepted for him but he needs his father's approval since he is the chairman of the three companies .

The Tall Asian Hurries to his room and wears his suit coat, All in black He adds a grey scarf and a pinch of perfume.  
he passes by the hallway mirror again and takes a final look, Before realizing that he is a little bit later than usual.

in the car he puts some music on before starting it and drives through the same way passing by the bakery of Adeline’s mother, He slows down and thinks about getting in to buy some muffins ,But deep down he knows that the muffins are nothing but an excuse to see the honey eyes of the girl he is crushing for .

He parks in an empty spot, And courageously gets into the store , His heart beats Faster while his eyes go right and left Searching for Adeline but unfortunately he finds the cashier wearing the same black uniform Adeline was wearing last time .

He asks for two muffins and gets served immediately .  
he lands his credit card for the payment .

the cashier takes few seconds for doing the operation,  
and disappointed raiden who hoped to see someone else in the black uniform waited silently.

a voice he recognizes calls the cashier by the name of Sam twice interrupting the silence .

Adeline shows up from the back office of the store, when Sam didn’t answer.

in casual clothes, looking cute with the messy bun , Raiden smiles at her .

Adeline smiles back .

both out of words , Raiden raises his muffin paper bag saying “i wanted to try the muffins you offered again”

“I am really glad you liked them “ she answers with a stuttering voice.

Raiden pluck up courage again and says” i guess it’s going to be my morning habit from now on”

“I am honored if it will,” she says, blushing.  
the silence dominates the place again, but it’s not awkward this time.

both young adults allowing themselves to flirt .

exchanging a warm look and a peaceful smile.  
forgetting that Sam is there too.

until Raiden’s phone rings...he checks to see his secretary’s name popping .  
realizing he is late to his morning meetings .

“i will see you later then “ he says with a grin.  
“Have a great day,” Adeline says.  
“ i will “ he tells her then looks at the cashier and says “thank you”

Sam lands the credit card back to him.

and he leaves.

in the car, the smile doesn’t leave his face.  
happy like never before , Raiden feels a feeling he thought he won’t feel again .

the desiring feeling .

****

7 a.m.  
Adeline's house 

Adeline wakes up on the couch where she laid last night with a horrible neck and back pain .  
She brushes her teeth, Washes her face and wears casual clothes .

She decides to go downstairs and help her mom in the bakery, before going to the company.

She ties her hair with a scrunchie in a messy way but still looks cute,and heads to the store.

Her mom and her assistant are preparing some deliveries, so she calls Sam from the back to come see her.

but the cashier is not answering so she goes instead.

seeing unexpected people in unexpected places is something she faced a lot in her life .  
but today’s unexpected person is probably her best not planned meeting ever.

Raiden , the man who is making her little heart dance lately is standing in front of her smiling.

she smiles back happily and stairs at how good looking he is right now.

a little ashamed of her messy look she spoke to him after that he showed her the bag of muffins saying with a stuttering voice “i’m glad you liked them”

The girl feels her body temperature increases while the Asian keeps flirting in a gentle way .  
she allows herself to flirt back .  
she somehow enjoyed each word he pronounced.

drowning in his perfume .  
Adeline is doubtless that something in her heart is growing for the man facing her .

their little moment gets interrupted by a phone call he didn’t take.

He takes his credit card from Sam, and thanks her, after telling the one with the messy look “i will see you later then “

out of words she finds nothing to say but “ have a great day”

and the answer he gave her was “ i will” 

she immediately asks herself if he meant that she is the reason he will have a great day.  
and while he leaves she heavily breaths and smiles .

“you know i am here right” Sam says laughing

“i know”  
“ that was direct flirting”  
“you think he was flirting?”  
“anyone can see that his eyes were shining when he saw you and yours too, but i don’t remember you told me about him before “

“well he is the ceo of the company i applied for “  
“and ..”

“there is nothing”

“you mean nothing yet”

“what’s going on ?” Adeline’s mother gets in .

“nothing “ her daughter answers.

“Your daughter is falling in love,” Sam says laughing.

“no i’m not” Adeline denies blushing.  
“well your cheeks are turning red, it means it’s true” her mom laughs too.

“It's too early for the word love,” Adeline says .

“Love doesn’t have a timing , it can hit you in a second or in a month or in a year , it’s not something you can restrict with time, but when it happens you will know” her mom says .

“ how ?” Sam asks,

“You will feel it deep down, a comfortable discomfort and a wild peace , that’s what love is “ the wise woman answers then leaves to the back where she was cooking.

Adeline leaves too, going back to the apartment to prepare herself for the interview in the afternoon.

**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned for more updates, see you in the next chapter.


End file.
